Champagne Moments Christmas part 2: the gift of giving

I think that with all running about and retail madness, it’s important to take a minute and think about what the spirit of Christmas means. And giving something to a person or family in need at this time of year is great thing to do. And something that will make you feel good too.

This is a very sad time of year for kids in need. Especially the one in six Australian children who living on or below the poverty line (Australian Council of Social Service – ACOSS – Poverty Report release in 2012) who probably won’t get to open a present on Christmas day.

These kids in our community need our help.

One of my besties volunteers (good on you, Mon) for an AMAZING organisation called GIVIT – Good for Good Causes, which is a grassroots charity that connects people who have stuff to give, with vulnerable and disadvantaged people who are very much in need. They came into their own during the 2011 Queensland floods where they attracted almost 1.8 million hits and 33,000 goods matched.

They’ve now branched out and launched GIVIT Kids.

 GIVIT Kids enables children to give safely and anonymously to impoverished, vulnerable and marginalised members of their community in a fun and engaging way. It is an online portal providing a safe way for children to give new or pre-loved belongings to meet the urgent material needs of Australian families and children in need.

The program has a holistic approach, empowering children to help others through an interactive website, engaging animations, child-friendly fundraising initiatives and a unique school curriculum integration.

What can you do this Christmas?

You or your family can help an at-risk or homeless child this Christmas by donating a GIVIT Kids Care Pack filled with both fun and essential items. All donations are tax deductible. You could event donate a pack as a special gift for a family member or colleague.

Your donation will buy a box of products to help brighten up the life of a child in need.

And also you could help GIVIT Kids help those in need by forwarding this post to other socially minded people who want to make a difference.

What’s great about this is that there are so many plusses. You can engage your kids and help them develop philanthropic habits that will hopefully be with them for life and you can feel good knowing your donation has gone directly to someone in need. And giving is good. Right?

How did givitkids.org.au come about?

GIVIT CEO, Juliette Wright, said GIVIT Kids was ‘born’ when she heard the shocking statistics indicating one in six Australian children are living in poverty.

“I was devastated when I heard and sadly, the situation is only getting worse,” Wright said. “According to ACOSS, 17.7% of Australian children are living below the poverty line and frankly I think we as adults aren’t doing enough.

“I believe with all my heart GIVIT Kids will be successful because children have an unlimited amount of love and willingness to help others. They have no prejudice and no pre-judgment. If they see someone in trouble they think how can I help them? Not, do they deserve my help?

“GIVIT Kids can and will change the culture and mindsets of our next generation by enabling giving to become a learned behaviour and habit that continues into adulthood.”

It seems Australian parents agree, with a survey of GIVIT donors showing 95% would use a site, such as GIVIT Kids, to teach their children about the importance of giving to others in need.

What else?

Of course there are many wonderful charities that would love your help this Christmas. The lovely Bianca has pulled together a fantastic list of charitable Christmas ideas here.

Have you ever done something charitable for Christmas? Would you consider it?